timschochet
Footballguy
6. Dwight Eisenhower
The Good
When Ike took over the Presidency in 1953, he came in as a Republican, but he was not part of the Republican establishment. Neither was he connected in any way to the conservative base, which was dominated at the time by McCarthyites convinced in conspiracy theories. The main one of these was that FDR had sold out China at the Yalta agreement because he was either a Communist himself or misled by Communists inside the State Department. So certain was Henry Luce (publisher of Time Magazine) that this happened that he bragged about the "secrets" that the new administration would reveal, and that it would destroy FDR, Truman, and the Democrats once and for all.
Suffice to say that Eisenhower disappointed Luce and all of the conservatives. He refused to investigate the State Department. Further, he refused McCarthy's attempts to bring the army to heel, which led directly to the Army/McCarthy hearings and McCarthy's downfall (which made Ike very happy.) Ike came to the White House as his own man, beholden to nobody, and governed that way. Though a fiscal conservative who put his faith in General Motors, he expanded Social Security and federal spending on the infrastructure. Ike confounded conservatives by ending the Korean War and negotiating an "Open Skies" nuclear agreement with the Soviets, the forerunner of the later SALT and ABM agreements. Ike disappointed the British, French, and Israelis by preventing them from taking over Suez in 1956. Though this was heavily criticized for years afterward, most historians now believe it was the correct decision, as any alternative would have forced the Soviet Union to act to defend Egypt.
Eisenhower did not approve of Brown vs. Board of Education, and cursed his appointment of Earl Warren as Chief Justice. This was not because Ike was a racist, but because he believed that the South was not ready for integration, and that it would lead to civil strife. He was correct in this assessment. Despite his disapproval, Ike didn't pull an Andy Jackson; he respected the law and was determined to carry it out. During the Little Rock crisis of 1956, Eisenhower defied his own advisors and sent federal troops to force the integration of Central High School.
Economic times were good during most of Eisenhower's 8 years (though it ended with a recession). Wisely, Ike didn't tinker with things when they were going well.
The Bad
Eisenhower enunciated the Domino Theory, which effectively reversed the Truman Doctrine of Containment (more on that later.) This was a confrontation between two brilliant minds in the State Department: George Kennan and John Foster Dulles. The immediate effects of this change in policy would be the support of an unstable regime in South Vietnam following the demise of the French at Dien Bien Phu. This would lead to disastrous results during the decade after Ike's reign. Dulles, who became Ike's Secretary of State, must also be held responsible for encouraging Hungary to revolt against the Soviet Union. The Hungarians honestly believed that the US would come to their aid, which was impossible. They were crushed, and Ike and Dulles were forced to reconsider their foreign policy.
But the worst decision that Ike ever made was little known at the time- it received almost no attention from the American media. This was the forced removal by the CIA of President Mossedegh in Iran and his replacement with Mohammad Reza Shah, the son of the deposed Reza Shah. Ike and his advisors (notably Allen Dulles of the CIA, John Foster's brother) believed this was a simple case of getting rid of a communist threat. They paid no attention to the fact that Mossedegh was a socialist, not a Communist, who opposed the Soviet Union and who was freely elected by the Iranian people, seeking a democracy and ready for it (unheard of in the Middle East). The damage this would do to our position in the Middle East (and particularly in Iran) has not ended to this day. While few Americans discuss it or are even aware of it, all Iranians know about it- it is their central reason for hating the United States. But this was not recognized until the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It's reasonable to assume that Eisenhower went to his death completely unaware of the ultimate repercussions of his act.
Analysis
Though I listed some of Eisenhower's worst mistakes, I don't really hold them against him, because unlike other foreign policy disasters (like the invasion of Iraq) they are far easier to criticize in hindsight. One would have to be Nostradamus to predict that support of South Vietnam and the Shah would ultimately lead to such disasters for the United States. They seemed reasonable enough at the time. Ike was a steady hand and an excellent President who managed the country very well through perhaps the most productive decade in our history.
The Good
When Ike took over the Presidency in 1953, he came in as a Republican, but he was not part of the Republican establishment. Neither was he connected in any way to the conservative base, which was dominated at the time by McCarthyites convinced in conspiracy theories. The main one of these was that FDR had sold out China at the Yalta agreement because he was either a Communist himself or misled by Communists inside the State Department. So certain was Henry Luce (publisher of Time Magazine) that this happened that he bragged about the "secrets" that the new administration would reveal, and that it would destroy FDR, Truman, and the Democrats once and for all.
Suffice to say that Eisenhower disappointed Luce and all of the conservatives. He refused to investigate the State Department. Further, he refused McCarthy's attempts to bring the army to heel, which led directly to the Army/McCarthy hearings and McCarthy's downfall (which made Ike very happy.) Ike came to the White House as his own man, beholden to nobody, and governed that way. Though a fiscal conservative who put his faith in General Motors, he expanded Social Security and federal spending on the infrastructure. Ike confounded conservatives by ending the Korean War and negotiating an "Open Skies" nuclear agreement with the Soviets, the forerunner of the later SALT and ABM agreements. Ike disappointed the British, French, and Israelis by preventing them from taking over Suez in 1956. Though this was heavily criticized for years afterward, most historians now believe it was the correct decision, as any alternative would have forced the Soviet Union to act to defend Egypt.
Eisenhower did not approve of Brown vs. Board of Education, and cursed his appointment of Earl Warren as Chief Justice. This was not because Ike was a racist, but because he believed that the South was not ready for integration, and that it would lead to civil strife. He was correct in this assessment. Despite his disapproval, Ike didn't pull an Andy Jackson; he respected the law and was determined to carry it out. During the Little Rock crisis of 1956, Eisenhower defied his own advisors and sent federal troops to force the integration of Central High School.
Economic times were good during most of Eisenhower's 8 years (though it ended with a recession). Wisely, Ike didn't tinker with things when they were going well.
The Bad
Eisenhower enunciated the Domino Theory, which effectively reversed the Truman Doctrine of Containment (more on that later.) This was a confrontation between two brilliant minds in the State Department: George Kennan and John Foster Dulles. The immediate effects of this change in policy would be the support of an unstable regime in South Vietnam following the demise of the French at Dien Bien Phu. This would lead to disastrous results during the decade after Ike's reign. Dulles, who became Ike's Secretary of State, must also be held responsible for encouraging Hungary to revolt against the Soviet Union. The Hungarians honestly believed that the US would come to their aid, which was impossible. They were crushed, and Ike and Dulles were forced to reconsider their foreign policy.
But the worst decision that Ike ever made was little known at the time- it received almost no attention from the American media. This was the forced removal by the CIA of President Mossedegh in Iran and his replacement with Mohammad Reza Shah, the son of the deposed Reza Shah. Ike and his advisors (notably Allen Dulles of the CIA, John Foster's brother) believed this was a simple case of getting rid of a communist threat. They paid no attention to the fact that Mossedegh was a socialist, not a Communist, who opposed the Soviet Union and who was freely elected by the Iranian people, seeking a democracy and ready for it (unheard of in the Middle East). The damage this would do to our position in the Middle East (and particularly in Iran) has not ended to this day. While few Americans discuss it or are even aware of it, all Iranians know about it- it is their central reason for hating the United States. But this was not recognized until the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It's reasonable to assume that Eisenhower went to his death completely unaware of the ultimate repercussions of his act.
Analysis
Though I listed some of Eisenhower's worst mistakes, I don't really hold them against him, because unlike other foreign policy disasters (like the invasion of Iraq) they are far easier to criticize in hindsight. One would have to be Nostradamus to predict that support of South Vietnam and the Shah would ultimately lead to such disasters for the United States. They seemed reasonable enough at the time. Ike was a steady hand and an excellent President who managed the country very well through perhaps the most productive decade in our history.
